Upholstery pad



Jah. 11, 194.9. LE ROY GORDQN -rAL 2,458,588

- I UPHOLSTERY PAD Filed NOV. l0, 1945 2 Shee'tS-Sheet 1 Jan. 11, 1949.L E ROY GORDON ET A1. 2,458,538

BHOLSTERY PAD Filed` Nov. 1o, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2` IN V EN T0125 im@,www www@ Patentecl'Jan. 11, 1949 hatte UPHOLSTERY PAD Le Roy Gordon,Richmona,riich.,.ana Leo L.

Williams, Cleveland Heights; Ohio Application November 10, 1945-, SerialNo:v 627,875

l 6 Claims. l.

This inventionv relates topads of the kind embodied in. variousupholstered structures and, as one. of its objects, aimsto provide. animproved construction for a pad' of this kind which will enable the padto retain its shape. and integrity during handling. and. installationand to. also retain its cushioning and' decorative. value during thesubsequent use. of the structure in which the pad isembodied..

Another object oi. the present invention is to provide an improvedconstruction for a pleated upholstery pad of. the. kind. embodying alayer of. coextendingfbatts, which. enable. the pad to. be moreeconomically manufactured and shipped and which will facilitate theinstallation of the. pad. as well as improve the quality and durabilityof the. upholstered structure. in which the pad is used.`

A further object oithis invention is. to provide an. improvedconstruction for an `upholstery pad of this kind, in which.glazedwadding is used. as a cover sheetior the batts. and contributes tothe padl certain desirable characteristics which are important inthehandling and installation thereof as welles to the quality and.durability of the upholstered structure..

Still another object of the invention isto provide Aan improvedYupholstery. pad of this character, in which the backing4 and. coversheets are connected by rows of stitching between the batts and in.which the glazed. wadding forming the cover sheet. has a tensilestrength. such that it provides a retaining means for. the hatts duringhandling and installation but is thereafter Subj ect to. tearing. orseparationat points between the rows of stitching for obtaining the fullavailable resiliency and cushioning value inthe pad..

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an improved upholsterypadof the character mentioned, in which the cover andlcackingy sheetshave gathers therein for. forming pleatsbetween the contiguous battswhich furtherstrengthen the pad and enable it to retain its shape.

Other objects and" advantages of theinvention will' become apparent. inthezfollowing. detaileddescription. f

The present. invention is an improvement over our earlier patent No.1,903,424 granted April' 11', 1933;

In the accompanying sheets of'. drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective sectional View taken throughanupholstery pad.embodying the present invention, the pad having the. finish cloth orwear sheet extending over the topf thereof.

Fig. 2 is a similar perspective sectional view 2 showing the pad withthe wear sheetv omitted therefrom..

Fig..3 is atransverse sectional detail View on an.y enlarged scalatak'enas. indicated by line- 3,-3 otV Fig. l and further illustrating theconstruction ofthe pad andthe. stitching used-in the pleats thereof. yFigs. 4 and. 5 are perspective sectional detail views. illustratinganother form of stitching. which can be used'in the ,pleats ofthe padshown. in

Fig. 1.. Fig.. 6 is. a partial.- transverse sectional. View showing theparts. ot the pad'. oi' Fig. 2 in: their assembled relation and. prior.to the stitching operation..

. Fi'g. ,'7 is` a partial. transverse .sectionalview taken through anupholstered structure embodying the improved pad. and illustrating. onestep inthe upholstering` operation by .which thev tearing of the glazedwedding cover sheet can be effected. x v

Fig. 8 is a partial perspective. view show-ing an rautomobile door onwhich a modified formI of. the improved upholstery pad isused as acovering, and,b j Fig.` 9 is a partial transverse, sectional view takenthrough themodified pad' of Fig. 8 substantially as indicated. bysection line 9 9..

The upholstery pads herein disclosed are. of a type generally similar'tothe padsv disclosed in our earlier patent. mentioned above butconstituteA an important improvement thereover. `In Figs. 1 and.2 of theaccompanying drawings the pad Iii is. shown as having a continuousbacking sheet, I I on which is. arranged a pl-uralty of coextendingvcontiguous batts I2` in strip form and which batts form the. maiorportion of the cushioning materialor lling of the pad'. The padalsoincludes a. cover' sheet kI3 4.which extends in continuous relationover a plurality ofthe batte lf2 and is connected with the backing sheetI l. along spaced lines extending longitudinally between the batts, asby rows of stitching I4". Fig. 1 shows the same pad'as Fig. 2 but with acontinuous finish cloth cover or-wear sheet la extending over thecoversheet I3' and also connected' with the backing sheet' by the stitchingI4.

The backing sheet I`I is preferably a loosely woven fabric sheet such asscrim, muslin, cheesecloth, tobacco clothorthe like. The batts I2 areinthe iorml of continuous strips made of resilient hrous material suchascotton', hair, jute, wood wool or various combinations of thesematerials. "illiesebatts are arranged on the backing sheet I I yin arelatively close or contiguous coextending relation to each other andform a layer of cushioning material between the cover sheet I3 and thebacking sheet. The batts are held in place by the cover` sheet whichextends continuously thereover and is stitched to the backing sheet soas to form pleats or seams I6 extending longitudinally between the pairsof contiguous batts. The cover sheet and backing sheet thus formelongated pockets which are lled by the respective batts I2 and the topsurface of the pad presents the appearance of a plurality of parallelrounded cushion sections or tufts I1 separated by the pleats I6.

The batts I2 and the backing and cover sheets II and I3 can be assembledinto a desired relative arrangement by any suitable apparatus, such asthat shown in our earlier patent and which need not be described here.Fig. 6 of the drawings shows the batts assembled in contiguous relationbetween the backing and cover sheets and illustrates the condition ofthe pad just prior to the stitching operation. It will be noted that inthis preliminary assembly the batts I2 are of a substantiallyrectangular cross-section and that when the cover sheet I3 has beenstitched to the backing sheet Il as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the battshave been somewhat compressed or compacted to a rounded contour to whichthey are held by the cover sheet. The pleats I6 are formed during thisstitching operation.

The cover sheet I3 is an important feature of the improved pad I and hascertain characteristics which produce important new results in theimproved construction. This cover sheet comprises a sheet of glazedcotton wadding of a size or length to extend in continuous relation overa plurality of the batts I2. The cover sheet is relatively thin incomparison with the depth or thickness of the batts I2 and, in thecompleted structure, forms a relatively smaller part of the cushioningmaterial or filling of the pad. The cover sheet is formed of a layer orsheet of matted cotton fibers and in which the fibers on one or bothsurfaces thereof are connected or bonded together by an adhesivesubstance or sizing, such as starch or other suitable material. Theglazed surface or surfaces I3a of the cover sheet I3 are of a smooth andpaper-like characteristic and these surface portions have a considerablygreater tensile strength than the untreated portions lying inwardly ofthe glazed surface or surfaces. In this glazed wadding the fibers arearranged so that, in the main, they extend in the same general directionwhich, in. the pad Ill, can be either in a direction substantiallyparallel to the rows of stitching I4 or in a direction substantiallynormal to such rows of stitching,

In forming the pad I 0 from the assembled batts I2 and the backing andcover sheets II and I3 as shown in Fig. 6, portions of the backing andcover sheets are gathered as indicated at I8 and I9 and these gatheredportions when connected by the rows of stitching I4 form the pleats orseams I6. .The gathers I8 and I9 are formed in the backing and coversheets at spaced points corresponding with the spaces between thecontiguous batts and these gathers are formed during or just prior tothe stitching operation. In forming the pleats I6, the gathers I9 of thecover sheet I3 are carried down into the gathers I8 of the backing sheetI2. The stitching I4 can be performed by suitable apparatus suchas agangtype sewing machine of an appropriate construction. In these rows ofstitching I4 the individual 4 stitches extend across the pleats I6 andthrough the gathers I8 and I9 thereof, thereby forming strongly sewnseams and relatively rm ribs lying at or adjacent the back of the pad.

An important characteristic of the cover sheet I3 is that the glazedwadding of which it is made has sufcient tensile strength to confine andhold the batts I2 in their assembled condition on the backing sheet IIduring handling, shipping and installation of the pad. Because of thistensile strength in the cover sheet I3 it is unnecessary to provide thepad with any additional retaining sheet on the top thereof for enablingit to satisfactorily withstand handling, shipping or installationstresses. It will thus be seen that the cover sheet I3, which ultimatelyforms a part of the desired cushioning depth or filling material of thepad, initially or temporarily forms the retaining means for the battsand temporarily gives the pad a smooth and reinforced top surface whichwill enable it to be handled, shipped and installed without fraying orloosening of the batts and without having the pad lose its contoured andpleated shape or otherwise becoming loose or irregular in character.

As mentioned above, the cover sheet I3 can be glazed on one or both ofits surfaces and Fig. 2 shows this sheet with the glazing I3a on bothits top and bottom surfaces. It is important that the cover sheet I3always be glazed on its upper or exposed surface so as to provide theabove described protective and retaining function, but if desired, theglazing can be omitted from its lower surface. In some cases this is anadvantage because when the glazing is omitted from the lower surface thefibers of the cover sheet have a greater tendency to adhere to thefibers of the batts I2, thereby causing the cover sheet and the batts tobecome more r less amalgamated into a homogeneous filling between theglazed upper surface and the backing sheet II.

As previously mentioned above, Fig. 1 of the drawings shows the pad I IJas having a. finish cloth or wear sheet I5 extending over the coversheet I3. This wear sheet can be any suitable upholstery cloth, fabric,or other covering material of the character desired for the exposedsurface of the upholstered structure in which the pad I0 is to beembodied. The wear sheet I5 can be applied to the pad I Il either duringthe operation of making the pad or can be applied after the pad has beencompleted. In many instances the wear sheet will be omitted from the padas initially constructed so that a wear sheet of leather or otherspecial form or pattern can be subsequently selected and applied to suitthe customers requirements. This procedure can be safely followedbecause of the tensile strength and ability of the glazed wadding coversheet to retain the batts in shape and protect them from fraying.

When the wear sheet I5 is embodied in the pad I 0 during theconstruction of the latter the wear sheet is folded or gathered asindicated at 2O in Fig. 3 and these gathers are carried downwardly intothe gathered portions I8 and I9 of the backing and cover sheets II andI3. In this particular construction the rows of stitching I4 are formedso that the stitches will extend across the pleats and through the wearsheet I5 as well as through the backing and cover sheets I I and I 3.

When the wear sheet I5 is applied to the pad I subsequent to theformation of the pad, the gathers 2| of the wear sheet (see Figs. 4 and5) arercarried downwardly as far as possible into the previously formedpleats I6 of the pad.' that is .to say, as far asis permitted bythe'previously formed rows of :stitching .i ii, The ygathers ZI .of thewear sheet are then. stitched to the pad bya separate rowof stitchingi22 with the stitches thereof extending through the 4backing .and coversheets `and through the gathered portion of the wear sheet. Fig. 4illustrates Athis operation oi applying the wear sheet to the'previously formed pad :l .and shows rthe wear sheet .in the process ofbeing connected to the pad Iby the stitching 2.2.. After each row of thestitching been done the wear sheet is drawn down smoothly over the nextadjacent `rounded portion ci the pad. The completed pad will have .anappearance very similar to the 'pad of Fig. i and the separate stitching22 of the .cover sheet will `be concealed in the pleats.

As mentioned above, the cover ysheet I3 of the pad I Il has a relativelyincreased tensile strength and dining installation vthis enables the padto be drawn tightly over the structure to which the pad is being appliedso that the edges of the pad can be fastened to the structure while insuch a taut condition. Because of this increased tensile strength, it ispossible to draw the pad into a su'liciently taut condition that Ythepad will have a smooth and regular surface characteristic and will beheld securely in the desired position yon the structure. Fig. 7 ofthedrawings illustrates an upholstered structure "2d, such as an automobileseat cushion, in 'which the pad *I9 is being used. The structure 24,which is here shown in an inverted position, has a wood frame or base 26on which the wire springs 126 are supported. A spring pad 2l extendsover the springs and forms a .protective covering to which theupholstery pad I 0 can be applied. When the pad l0 is applied to thespring pad 2'! it is drawn tautly over the latter by means of the wearsheet I which 4is extended beyond the layer of batts and is attached tothe frame `,'25, .as by means of the tacks 28.

When the pad i Ii has been thus embodied in an upholstered structure asjust described above, the

feature of the relatively increased tensilestrength' of the cover sheeti3 has served its main purpose and it is then desirable `to vdestroythis tensile strength and cause or enable the cover` sheet to becomemore or less amalgamated with the batts I2`so as to augment the cushionthickness provided by the latter. This can be accomplished by tearing orstretching the cover sheet I3 between each pair of pleats I6. It isimportant that the cover sheet be torn at points spaced from the pleatsbecause if it is torn too close to the stitching i4, it will result inthe stitching being loosened and in the pleats losing their roundedshape and fullness and becoming irregular.

The tearing of the cover sheet can be accomplished in various ways suchas by the upholsterer striking the cushion sections of the finishedstructure with his hand or with a paddle, or in the manner illustratedin Fig. 7, in which the upholstered structure 2l! is placed in invertedposition on a iiat supporting member 29 and subliected to pressure by aloading or pressure applying device`30. If this tearing has not beenpreviously effected. it will take place during the ordinary use of theupholstered structure. When the device SU is used the pressure thereofcauses the cushion sections of the pad ID to be conipressed or compactedagainst the support 29 and this results in a tearing or stretching ofthe cover sheet I3 along longitudinal lines located at 6 pointsintermediate the pleats I6. The .tearing of the cover sheet is.indicated in a somewhat exaggerated manner in Fig. 7 by the referencecharacter '3I. When the covier sheet I3 has been thus torn or stretched.it releases its holding .or compressive -action on the batts l2 to theextent that the latter are free to yield with compressive and .expansiveactions thus making the full cushioning :effect -of the batts available.'Ihis likewise `results in the wear sheet I5 'being fullyv and smoothly.lled out to the stitch lines and in the cushioning thickness of thecover sheet I3 being added to the batts.

The improved upholstery pad I li can be applied .to various other .usesand, in Figs. 8 and 9, a modified form of this pad is shown as beingused as 4a lining or upholstery covering 33 for the inside of theautomobile door 34. When used .for this purpose the pad comprises alayer oi contiguous batts 35 disposed between a fabric backing sheet Siivand a 'cover sheet 3i formed on the glazed cotton wadding mentionedabove. A wear sheet or finished cloth covering 33 of the desiredcharacteristics extends over the Cover sheet 3i and the backing andcover sheets are connected together between the contiguous batts by rowsof stitching which form pleats 39 in the pad similar to the pleatsdescribed above. To impart to the pad 33 a desired stiffness andstrength, la relatively stili 4backing sheet 4i) formed of cardboard orother similar fibrous material attached to the pad. The stiff backingsheet "40 is connected to the fabric backing sheet 3@ by being gluedthereto, or if desired, this backing sheet can be stitched to the pad.The pad 33 including the .stiff backing .sheet 45 constitutes aprefabricated 4upholstery vcovering or pad which can tbe readilyattached to the structure of the vehicle door 34 to form an attractiveupholstered inner lining 'or covering thereon.

From the foregoing vdescription and the accompanying drawings, it willnow be readily understood that the present invention provides animproved upholstery pad having important desirable qualities. andcharacteristics over simi-lar pads heretofore constructed. It will alsobe seen that the improved pad construction above `described in detailenables .a .pad of ythis kind to be handled, shipped and installed withgreater facility than the previously constructed pads and that theimproved pad is better able to retain its shape, is not subject tofraying and the upholstered structure in which it is embodied hasgreater durability and a more satisfactory appearance.

Although the improved upholstery pads have been illustrated anddescribed herein in considerable detail. it will be understood, ofcourse, that the invention is not to be regarded as correspondinglylimited but includes all changes and modications coming within thespirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

l. Upholstery padding comprising, a continuous backing sheet. a row ofbatts disposed in coextending contiguous relation to each other on saidbacking sheet and forming a layer of padding thereon, a continuous coversheet extending over the batts, a continuous wear sheet extending overthe cover sheet, and rows of stitching connecting said sheets betweensaid batts, said cover sheet being a sheet of glazed wadding of athickness to form a top layer of padding extending over said batts andhaving its bers extending mainly in the direction of said rows ofstitching and having a tensile strength sufficient to retain said battsin place and also protect the same from fraying and loosening duringhandling and installation of the padding but being subject to tearing atpoints located between and spaced from the rows of stitching afterinstallation of the padding and in response to pressure applied thereto.

2. Upholstery padding comprising, a backing sheet, a layer of batts onsaid backing sheet and disposed in coextending contiguous relation toeach other, a cover sheet extending over the batts, said cover andbacking sheets having gathers therein forming pleats at points betweenand coextensive with said batts, and rows of stitching connecting saidsheets between said batts with the stitches of said rows extendingtransversely of the pleats.

3. Upholstery padding comprising, a backing sheet, a layer of batts onsaid backing sheet and disposed in coextending contiguous relation toeach other, a cover sheet extending over the batts, said cover andbacking sheets having gathers therein forming pleats at points betweenand coextensive with said batts, the gathers of said cover sheetextending downwardlyT into the gathers of said backing sheet, and rowsof stitching connecting said sheets between said batts with the stitchesof said rows extending across the pleats and through the gathers of saidcover and backing sheets.

4. Upholstery padding comprising, a backing sheet, a layer of batts onsaid backing sheet and disposed in coextending contiguous relation toeach other, a cover sheet extending over the batts, a wear sheetextending over said cover sheet, said backing sheet, cover sheet andwear sheet having gathers therein forming pleats at points between andcoextensive with said batts, the gathers of said cover sheet and wearsheet extending downwardly into the gathers of said backing sheet, androws of stitching connecting said sheets between said batts with thestitches of said rows extending across the pleats and through thegathers of said wear, cover and backing sheets.

5. Upholstery padding comprising, a backing sheet, a layer of batts onsaid backing sheet and disposed in coextending contiguous relation toeach other, a cover sheet extending over the batts, a wear sheetextending over the cover sheet, said wear sheet, cover sheet and backingsheet having gathers therein forming pleats at points between andcoextensive with said batts, and rows oi stitching connecting saidsheets between said batts with the stitches of said rows extendingtransversely to the direction of the pleats, said cover sheet being asheet of glazed wadding having its bers extending mainly in a givendirection and having a tensile strength sufcient to retain said batts inplace during handling and installation of the padding but being subjectto tearing at points located between and spaced from the rows ofstitching after installation of the padding and in response to pressureapplied thereto.

6. A tufted upholstery pad comprising, a backing sheet, a plurality ofbatts in strip form disposed in coextending relation to each other` onsaid backing sheet and forming a layer of padding thereon, thecontiguous batts of said layer having their adjacent edges extending inrelatively close substantially parallel relation to each other but beingseparable to aord access therebetween to the backing sheet, a coversheet extending in continuous relation over said batts and having spacedcoextending substantially parallel gathers formed therein and extendingdown between said adjacent edges of the contiguous batts and intoengagement with said backing sheet, and rows of stitching connectingsaid gathers with said backing sheet between the batts, said cover sheetbeing a sheet of glazed wadding of a thickness to form a top layer ofpadding extending over said batts and having a tensile strengthsuflicient to confine said batts and protect the same from fraying andloosening during handling of the pad.

LE ROY GORDON. LEO L. WILLIAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the nie ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 292,187 Tyler Jan. 22, 18841,331,562 Foster Feb. 24, 1920 1,903,424 Gordon et al Apr. 11, 19332,144,544 Osborn Jan. 17, 1939

